Louisiana Voice

Special dispatch to LouisianaVoice

A regularly scheduled DPEC meeting of the St. Tammany Democratic Party Executive Committee (DPEC) Thursday, April 17, was abruptly canceled on April 17 by Chairman Peter Lewis without explanation. Despite objections of several of the DPEC members, Lewis refused to back off.

Parliamentarian Leyla Hekmatdoost, called an impromptu Democratic Town Hall meeting that was billed as a meeting to discuss “leadership issues within our DPEC.”

Ten members of DPEC attended the Town Hall as well as an additional 20 community members of the Democratic Party residing in St. Tammany.

Challenges with Lewis, who also serves as a Covington City Councilman, include changing agendas just before the start of meetings, attempting to appoint members to empty DPEC seats without due process, and failing to adhere to the Committee’s By-laws.

Another issue faced by the DPEC is former Treasurer Marie Wade has absconded with the DPEC funds by moving the fund balances into a new bank account without authorization. This has blocked duly elected Treasurer Erin Rowan from paying for the DPEC Office rent in Slidell and for the DPEC’s website.

Several community members in attendance spoke vehemently about the need to address the potential that fraud had been committed by the treasurer Wade.

“How does someone close one account and take the money to open another without the consent of the Committee?” Jamie Segura asked. “Shouldn’t there be a theft investigation?”

Jeremy Thompson, a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, said the DSCC and its legal counsel are aware of the issues in St. Tammany. “They’ve been trying to help straighten out the problems” but at this point haven’t made any headway.

Segura, again speaking up, asked why a quorum of the DPEC doesn’t vote out or impeach Chairman Lewis and call for an investigation of Wade.

Most DPEC members in attendance said they are prohibited by the DSCC Bylaws from taking more definitive steps. In fact, they said their own Bylaws are redundant and ambiguous in some areas. And the local Bylaws limit their actions while enabling Lewis to do things that are contrary to the will of the majority.

The St. Tammany DPEC is scheduled to meet monthly on the third Thursday.

SEE BELOW FOR COMPLAINTS AGAINST PETER LEWIS AND MARIE WADE

Democratic Town Hall – St Tammany Parish – April 17th 2025

A majority of the members of St Tammany DPEC (see reverse side for names and districts) are seeking the removal of the current DPEC Chair, Peter Lewis. We have identified a series of governance and procedural concerns that have negatively impacted the functionality and integrity of the St. Tammany Democratic Parish Executive Committee (DPEC). Below is a summary of these concerns:

Bylaw Violations & Misconduct

• Failure to facilitate the will of the body, instead prioritizing personal judgment over majority rule.
• Unlawfully executing a sublease contract without assembly review or vote.
• Defying multiple carried motions since the start of the term.
• Conducting an unlawful vote during an improperly convened Executive Session.
• Refusing to disclose contractual obligations related to the office lease, including not disclosing that rent had already increased on Feb 1st rather than on March 1st.

Abuse of Authority & Procedural Manipulation

• Repeatedly omitting requested agenda items from General Meetings.
• Obstructing the official process for appointing new members.
• Assigning committee roles without due process, favoring personal preferences over qualifications.
• Misrepresenting procedural actions to State Party staff.
• Attempting to appoint a new DPEC member without assembly knowledge or vote.
• Allowing an ineffective Communications Chair to remain in place despite the availability of more qualified members.
• Cancelling regularly scheduled public meetings without explanation.

Financial Mismanagement & Ethical Concerns

• Allowing a non-Treasurer to have access to and control over DPEC finances and financial communications.
• Restricting the elected Treasurer from full access to financial records.
• Discouraging committee-specific fundraising efforts via ActBlue, limiting access to necessary funds.
• Creating barriers for committee members to view documentation and information they are entitled to access.
• Sanctioning a new bank account being opened by members who are not our elected Treasurer.

Hostile & Unprofessional Conduct

• Allowing and enabling members to spread falsehoods and threats against others during meetings.
• Using dismissive and authoritarian language, referring to DPEC as “your DPEC.”
• Ignoring members requesting to speak and disregarding the parliamentary process.
• Failing to use members’ and guests’ preferred pronouns, exposing DPEC to legal liability under Title VII protections.
• Publicly disparaging committee members and the Parliamentarian for upholding the bylaws.
• Not providing a clear platform for members to discuss and present concerns without judgment.

These issues, collectively, have eroded trust within the committee and impeded our ability to operate effectively. We provide this information to ensure clarity regarding our concerns and the rationale for our desire for new leadership and the actions we are taking to achieve this goal.

DPEC Members who initiated the reform initiative include:

• Jeremy JF Thompson – District 1 |  2nd Vice Chair
• Leyla Hekmatdoost – District 3 | Parliamentarian
• Allison Mathas – District 4
• David Shapiro – District 5
• Ruby Porter – District 6
• Adolfo Rodriguez III – District 11
• Miranda Burbridge – District 12
• Sarah Cook – At Large | Secretary
• Erin Rowan – At Large | Treasurer
• Jennifer Bondio – At Large